Crescent Moon
by BlondieEllie
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Evelyn Moon is a half-Quileute girl who moves to the Indian reservation of La Push. She meets and befriends the locals, but begins to realise that they are hiding something. Little does she know how far they will go to keep their secret.
1. Preface

PREFACE

I'd never been truly afraid in my life. Never so terrified that my heart stopped, that my blood froze in my veins, that I became a rigid, motionless statue so incapable of movement that I couldn't even scream. Because up until now, there had never been anything remotely scary to trouble my peaceful existence. Sure, there had been stuff that made me so mad I could have killed someone, but fear was something alien to me.

Now though, I was completely and utterly paralyzed with terror. My mind was screaming that I should run, but my body was stubbornly refusing. Any second now, the great beast not ten feet away would realise that I was here, and then that would be the end of my pathetically short, pointless life.

A snarl ripped from the monster's jaws, the sound so ferocious that I jumped almost a foot. That was when my body seemed to wake up, and I clamped my hands to my mouth only a second too late to muffle the piercing scream that rang out as clear as a bell in the silent forest.

They both whipped around, the huge animal and the boy beside him, their frantic gazes searching the trees - and coming to rest of me. I screamed again, then without hesitating turned and ran, not caring where I was headed as long as I could escape the madness I was leaving behind, my instincts for self-preservation taking over. There was a shout from the boy and in one great leap, the monster was in front of me, its muzzle pulled back to reveal a line of dagger-like fangs dripping with saliva.


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

1. NEW BEGINNINGS

I sat staring out of the window, listening to some shouty punk band on my iPod, when I felt a bump and realised that we had landed. My mother, who was alseep in the seat next to me, woke with a jolt and stretched her long, thin arms.

"Are we there already?"

"Looks like it."

It had been sunny back in Philly, but here in Port Angeles, in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, it was pouring with rain, despite it being early August. I sighed, and for the millionth time wondered what had made my mother decided to move back to the place where she had grown up: the tiny Indian reservation of La Push, fifteen miles from the nearest town and otherwise known as Dullsville, USA.

I had been going every summer since I was born to visit my grandparents, but since they died when I was ten I hadn't been back. Though beautiful, the reservation was the place I'd ever choose to live. Great for hiking, surfing, whale-watching and so on, but the village has a single shop, a frighteningly small high school where I would stick out like a sore thumb with my pale coloring, and year- round rain. In short, the rez was my own personal hell, to which my mother seemed determined to exile me.

I had never been able to understand Mom. Our personalities are scarily alike, but mentally we're on completely seperate wavelengths. And physically... well, we couldn't be more different. Mom is almost stereotypically Native, russet-skinned and raven-haired with almond-shaped brown eyes, a straight nose and razor-sharp cheekbones. And beautiful. At almost forty, men's eyes still follow her wherever she goes, not that she cares of course.

I'm the opposite. As tall as Mom, but whereas she's lithe and slender I'm curvy and a few pounds short of plump. Luckily, I curve in all the right place; Mom's not the only one who gets checked out. My hair is light blond, thick and straight, cut to shoulder length, and my skin is the color of fresh cream, though it tans easily.

Outside, the sky was dark, stormy gray, rain falling so hard that I could barely make out the airport building not thirty feet away. I pulled up the hood of my black jacket and and retrieved my carry-on bag from the overhead locker, then followed a fat, sweaty man wering a Seattle Seahawks sweater down the aisle and into the deluge outside. Once we had recovered our two huge suitcases, Mom and I made our way to the parking lot and peered around anxiously, trying to spot an old friend of hers who was coming to pick us up. Several people were standing around waiting, but Mom seized my arm and dragged me towards an impossibly tall, broad-shouldered boy with cropped black hair and reddish brown skin. He was leaning against a battered Volkswagen, his muscular arms folded, grinning at the pair of us with dazzling white teeth.

"Jacob, honey!" Mom beamed, hugging the huge boy. "I can't believe how big you've got!"

"I guess I just keep growing," he joked. "Great to see you, Hannah."

"You too, sweetie. Now, Jake, this is my daughter Evelyn. Evie, baby, this is Jacob Black, Billy's boy."

"Hi," I said with a small smile. Shyness has never been a personality trait of mine, but I tend to be cautious around people until I get to know them properly.

"Hi. Woah, I haven't seen you for like, six years. You've really changed."

"You too. Nice to see you again, Jacob."

His grin widened and he held out a large hand. As his warm fingers closed around mine, a shock ran through my body and I whipped my hand away as though I had been burned. Astonished, I looked first at my open palm then up at Jacob, who gave a tiny shrug and stuck his own hand into the pocket of his cut-off jeans. Mom was busy searching through her purse for her cell phone and hadn't noticed anything.

"We'd better hit the road before Dad starts to worry," Jacob said. "Who wants to ride shotgun?"

"Evie can, I want to catch up on a little more sleep. Where shall I put the cases?"

"Oh, I'll deal with that."

Jacob picked up our two huge steamer trunks effortlessly and stuck them in the trunk of the old Volkswagen. Mom and I exchanged an awed glance, then got into the car and slammed the doors shut behind us, rain hammering down on the windshield. Jacob slid into the driver's seat and flashed me a brief smile, revved the engine, and reversed out of the parking space.

The drive to the rez took over an hour, the scenery a green blur as the car shot down the highway. The 101 highway wound through the dense, eerily green forests of the Olympic National Park, past Crescent Lake and running along the Sol Duc river. There was lush vegetation everywhere, the roads bordered by soaring firs and vine maples, their trunks obscured by thick emerald green mosses and lichens, the ground carpeted with ferns and wood sorrel. Unfortunately, the pewter-gray skies and heavy rainfall gave the forest a sinister, claustraphobic feel, as though the vivid green woods were going to swallow you up and keep you prisoner in their timeless depths.

I was pretty sure that Jacob was speeding, but kept quiet, as my record wasn't exactly clean. He was friendly and easy to get along with, so I soon felt perfectly at ease as we chatted, sticking to safe subjects like sports, music and movies, his soft, husky voice soothing my raw nerves. Jake told me about life on the rez, the stuff he liked to do with his friends and his high school. Though he looked older, in his early twenties at least, it turned out that he was only seventeen, and would be going into the junior class at the Quileute Tribal School in September. I would be starting out there too as a sophomore, and was utterly dreading it.

We finally reached La Push, the highway taking us along the rocky crescent of First Beach, through the village and down a dirt road edged with trees, interspersed with the odd log cabin, until Jake pulled up in front of a small wooden house at the end of the track.

"Here we are," he said cheerfully, cutting the engine. "Home sweet home."

The little wooden cabin, painted a faded white, looked like a woodcutter's house in a fairytale, nestled between ancient redwoods and Sitka spruces with only a tiny square of back yard. A shallow porch ran along the front of the house, and in the doorway sat a great bear of a man in a wheelchair, who waved to us.

"Is that your dad?" I asked, gazing at my new home with wide eyes.

"Yeah, that's Billy. He's been dying to see you and your mom again, hasn't stopped yabbering about it for months."

"This place is so... small. Does it even have running water?"

Jacob laughed, a deep, throaty chuckle.

"Yep, electricity too. This isn't the Third World, Evie. C'mon, or the old guy's going to die of impatience."

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car, following Jacob up the muddy drive to where Billy Black was waiting.

"Hey, kids!" he greeted us enthusiastically. "You must be Evie, haven't seen you for years! My, you're looking great, a proper young lady now. Heard lots about you from your mom." Billy grinned, offering me an enormous hand.

"Heard lots about you too," I said, smiling warmly as we shook hands. "Nice to see you."

Billy's dark eyes twinkled, buried deep in fold of creased brown skin. His age was difficult to judge, late fifties perhaps, his kind, wise face etched with deep lines and his shoulder-length black hair streaked with gray.

"So where's Hannah, did you leave her at the airport?" he asked Jacob, as Mom's door opened and she swung her legs out of the car.

"Naw, not your Jacob," she called out, straightening up and grinning. "Too much of a gentleman. Billy, great to see you!"

"Well, if it isn't little Hannah Moon!"

Mom dashed up the porch steps and flung her arms around Billy's neck, pulling him into a tight bear hug. Jacob rolled his eyes at me and I giggled.

"How've you been, you old coyote?" she laughed, her brown eyes dancing.

"Good thanks! What about you, you little wildcat?"

"Aw, can't complain. Say, you've got yourself one mighty fine boy there, Billy. The nicest manners."

"Yeah, he's a good kid, though most of the time he acts like he was dragged up by a pack of wolves. Anyway, come see the house! The builders fixed the place up like you wanted and I got Jake and some of his friends to paint it. Jake, show Evie her room, I'll bet she can't wait to see it!"

"This way," Jacob said brightly, leading me into the house.

The front room was bigger than I expected and painted cream with a chocolate brown carpet. Our furniture was stacked in the middle of the room alongside a mountain of packing cases, and the air smelled like fresh paint. Jacob crossed the room and headed for a short hallway opposite, vanishing through a door on the right.

I followed him curiously, and found myself in a small bedroom with a single window overlooking the back yard. The walls were painted peachy pink and the honey-colored floorboards were bare, giving the room a cozy, inviting feel. Most of the space was taken up by the big double bed, which had a beautiful new patchwork quilt on it, made up of triangles of different pink floral materials stitched into a design like a leaping salmon. My vanity was wedged under the the window, a shelf had been fixed to the wall above the bed and a big built-in closet stood open near the door. More cardboard boxes cluttered the floor, and I skirted them, going to sit on the bed. Jacob's dark eyes watched me intently as I stroked the unfamiliar quilt, marvelling at the time and effort that must have gone into making it.

"Where's this from?" I asked, admiring the different shades of pink.

"It's a welcoming present from Sue Clearwater, she made it herself."

"Sue who?"

"Clearwater. Harry Clearwater's widow, lives down near the beach with her kids, Seth and Leah. Well, Leah's moved to San Francisco so they're helping her get settled down there at the moment, but they'll be back by the end of the summer."

The names were vaguely familiar from my holidays spent at La Push, but I couldn't place them.

"Harry Clearwater died?" I frowned, struggling to match a face to the name.

"Yeah, just over a year ago of a heart attack." Jake leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms.

"I remember, Mom flew over for the funeral. How old are his kids?"

"Leah's twenty and Seth turned sixteen in May. He'll be in your class next semester."

I perked up a little, relieved that I'd know at least one person in my new class.

"So, how d'you like the room?" Jacob asked anxiously.

"It's really nice, I love the colors. And I'll have to thank Sue for the quilt, it's a work of art."

"She makes them to sell at the gift shop down by the beach, with eagles and wolves and stuff. The tourists love them. And my friend Embry is responsible for the paint, he had some left over from doing his mom's room. My other friend Quil was worried you might not be a pink kind of girl. Pink's cool, right?"

"Pink's great. Do Quil and Embry live on the rez?" Jake had mentioned them earlier in the car, something about dirt biking with Embry.

"Yeah, I think you probably already met them when you were a kid. Quil's actually my cousin, and both of them are like brothers to me." Jacob smiled, and I felt I was missing some in-joke.

"So what do you rez boys do for kicks around here? It seems pretty boring."

"You'd be surprised, there's more going in La Push than you think."

I snorted.

"Yeah, right. I've been coming here every year since I was like, one, and it just gets more depressing every time. I can't wait to get out off here."

"Where will you go?"

"I want to major in English, then go to law school."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Law school? You want to be a lawyer?"

"No, I want to go to law school to become a hairdresser." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, dumb question. Wow, that's really cool." He came over and sat down beside me on the bed, making my heart race. "Listen, it's none of my business, but you really didn't want to move here, did you?"

I was silent for a moment, lightly tracing the stitching on the quilt with my fingertip.

"No, that's not quite true. Shockingly, I don't actually mind this place too much. And there was no way I could stay in Philly after - well, after everything. But a reservation? Mom fits in here, but I sure as hell don't. And I've never felt remotely Native... I'm worried that I'll be rejected." I pulled a face. "I sound pathetic."

"No, you sound like a perfectly normal person. Look, don't stress out. You're pretty, you're smart, you're confident, everyone's going to love you. Even if you look like a paleface."

"Even if I look like a paleface." I smiled. "So are you guys staying for dinner?"

"Are you kidding?" Jacob grinned. "Dad would stay for breakfast and lunch tomorrow too if he could. So what d'you want to do?"

I gave the boxes a rueful look. "Maybe I ought to start unpacking."

"Naw, you'll have plenty of time for that! Let's go for a walk, you've been on an aeroplane all day. We can go down to First Beach, the rain's let up."

"Okay, I'll just go tell Mom."

We found the adults in the kitchen, gossiping over a pot of fresh coffee. The tiny, square room was painted cream with warm, honey-toned cupboards, giving it a homey feel.

"Wow, Mom, you managed to find the coffee maker in all those boxes?" I grinned, leading against a counter.

"It was in the box marked 'coffee maker', silly."

"You sure look like your mom, Evie," Billy said, and I glanced round at him in surprise. Most people say that I'm like my dad, which drives me crazy.

"You know you're the first person to ever say that?" Mom laughed. "You need to get your sight checked, old man!"

"Now don't be giving me any of that cheek! Jake, Hannah's invited us to stay for dinner."

"Really?" Jacob said innocently, shooting me a sly glance. I bit my lip, struggling to keep a straight face. "Well, isn't that nice! Lucky you brought that fried fish over, huh?"

Billy elbowed his son in the ribs and Jake punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Why don't you start unpacking your stuff, Evie?" Mom suggested. She had caught Jake's glance and seemed thrilled that the two of us were getting along so well. "Jacob could keep you company. I've got to get the dinner things out and heat the fish up, so we'll be eating in at least half an hour."

"Naw, Jake and I are going to walk down to First Beach."

"Oh, that's a great idea! Just be careful on the road, some of those tourists drive like freaking maniacs."

"Mo-om." I rolled my eyes. "I avoided getting run over in Philly for sixteen years, I'm sure I'll manage just fine here. We'd better bring the cases in first, anyway."

"Already done," Billy announced, as Jacob dumped the two massive trunks on the living room floor. "Have a nice time, kids."

"Thanks, Billy!" I called over my shoulder, following Jake out the front door.

We strolled down the dirt road towards the beach, walking at a leisurely pace. The grass at the side of the road was muddy and squelched under my high-tops, droplets of water falling from the overhanging branches. I was unsure of what to say, as we'd used up most of small talk.

"Do you want to meet some people?" Jacob asked suddenly.

"Um, sure. Like, your friends? Now?"

"Not now, but yeah, Quil and Embry would love to meet you. Especially Embry."

"Why?"

"Oh, he has a thing for blondes. So are you up for it?"

"I guess."

"Cool, I'll invite them round when you come for dinner Saturday."

"We're coming for dinner?" I asked, grinning. We'd reached the end of the lane and turned onto the highway, a mud-splattered Chevy pickup roaring past and splashing my jeans with water.

"Yep, we're doing a barbecue, Charlie Swan is coming over from Forks and Rachel will be there with her boyfriend Paul."

"Well just bring on the spicy ribs and horny friends!" I giggled, and Jacob spluttered with laughter. "Hang on, Rachel's your sister, right? Man, I haven't seen her for ages! Wasn't she studying at Washington State?"

"Yeah, she graduated last year and now she's working for a real estate agency in Forks. We managed to persuade her to stay at home by turning the loft into a room for her."

"That's good. And Charlie Swan's what, a friend of your dad's?"

"Yeah, they've been friends since they were kids. He's Chief of Police in Forks."

"Your dad's smart, getting in with the cops. I knew a few of the traffic cops back in Philly, they were real nice, let me off a few speeding charges."

"Speeding? You? No way, you look like such a good girl!" We were right by the store now, and I could see the beach in the distance. It was almost deserted, the bad weather forcing the surburnt tourists to stick to their cabins and RVs, only a few dertermined people in bikini bottoms and raincoats sitting on the sand.

"I am a good girl, just one who likes driving fast."

"What d'you drive?" Jacob asked curiously, and I recognised the slightly manic gleam in his eyes that the boys at my old high school got when talking about cars.

"Oh, nothing special. Just a '74 Ford Gran Torino," I said breezily, feigning nonchalance. Jacob stopped dead.

"You're BSing me."

"No, it's true. It was my sixteenth birthday present from my parents, I've had it like, two months."

"Aw man, sweet! Where is it, is it here?" He looked around wildly, as though the car was going to pop out of nowhere.

"Naw, it's being dropped off Saturday morning. Hey, I can drive it over to your place for the barbecue."

"Awesome! I have to tell Quil, he's going to freak."

Jacob grilled me with questions about my car all the way across the dirt lot, through the tangled hedge of weeds and onto the beach. Using what little knowledge of cars I possessed, I did my best to answer, and Jake seemed stisfied by my replies.

First Beach was stunning, a timeless, untouched stretch of rocky shoreline that was as perfect as if it were trapped in a snowglobe. The turbulent, iron-gray waters of the Pacific lapped at the pebble-strewn beach, fringed with a band of pale sand beyond which was an expanse of smooth stones in varying shades that I always mistook for gray at the first glance. Countless skeletal driftwood logs, ripped up by their roots in the violent storms that plagued La Push, lay solitary or in piles along the high tide line, stripped and bleached bone white like the ghostly reminders of some terrible massacre. Sea stacks with jagged cliffs jutted out of the crashing waves, topped with sinister black firs and giving the landscape an air of foreboding. The foaming ocean was turned almost black beneath the dense, swirling gray clouds, a chilling wind whipping my hair back as I gazed at the beautiful yet threatening coast, a pair of eagles wheeling in the sky and a seal bobbing in the water just off James Island. The smell of brine and seaweed stung my nostrils, and the wind bit at my nose and ears.

Jacob and I picked up the pace, walking briskly along the narrow strip of sand with our heads down and our hands shoved deep in the pockets of our jeans.

"Akalat," I murmured under my breath, my eyes fixed on James Island.

"What?" Jacob frowned, the wind making it almost impossible to hear.

"Akalat!" I shouted. "I just remembered that it's the Quileute name for James Island!"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry for dragging you out here, I didn't realise the wind was so strong!"

"Sorry?"

"I didn't realise the wind was so strong!" Jake bellowed and I laughed.

"That's okay!"

We stopped halfway down the beach and turned around, immediately able to hear better with our backs to the wind. Unfortunately, the situation with my hair worsened, forcing me to put up the hood of my jacket to try and keep the flailing blond locks under control.

"This wind is so annoying!" I complained.

"Welcome to La Push, baby," Jacob grinned.

When we got back to the house, I lurched through the door and rushed into my bedroom, diving for the vanity.

"Oh. My. God."

My hair was knotted and tangled like seaweed, and I rooted around in a packing case with 'hair stuff' written on in metallic blue eyeliner until I found my brush and comb.

"What are you doing?" Jacob followed me into my room with an amused expression.

"Sorting out my hair. Can you be a sweetie and pass me a scrunchie?"

Smirking, he dipped his hand into the open box and fished out a red velvet scrunchie.

"This one okay?"

"Yeah, that's great." I winced, dragging the bristles through the knots, then took the scrunchie from Jacob and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

"Can you function again now that you've done your hair?" he snickered, and I scowled at him.

"Yes, thank you," I said primly, sticking my nose in the air. He laughed and held the door open with a mock bow.

"Madam, after you."

I stalked past and headed for the kitchen, where the table was set and Mom and Billy were talking about local car dealerships as she tipped a load of fried fish out of a frying pan and into a large dish.

"There you are! Did you have a nice walk?" Mom demanded the moment I was in the room.

"Yeah, the beach is really pretty."

"Evie got her hair messed up though," Jacob said, grinning hugely, and Billy laughed. I poked my tongue out the enormous boy, who made the kitchen seem like a child's play house, then opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice and a couple of cans of soda. As Mom began serving up the fish and Jake and I sat down at the table, my stomach growled; I hadn't noticed how hungry I was. The moment she placed a big plate of fish in front of me I tucked in, shovelling the food down ravenously.

"Evie, wait until the others are served!" Mom,scolded hitting the back of my hand with a wooden spoon.

"Mo-om!" I moaned, my mouth full. "I'm hungry!"

"Wait, or no dessert for you! Honestly, you'd have though you hadn't eaten in days the way you're putting that fish away!"

Billy and Jacob chuckled, and Mom served them before sitting down with her own plate of food.

"You can start now," she informed me, and I grabbed my fork and picked up where I'd left off.

The fried fish was great and the conversation around the table light and friendly, mainly centering around the rez high school and Mom's new job at the county hospital. Mom is actually Dr. Hannah Moon, Ph.D., with a medical degree from Penn University.

"Y'know, you were lucky to get that job," Billy said, waving his fork at Mom. "Dr. Gerandy passing was totally unexpected. No heart problems, kept himself in good shape, never smoked or drank, then one morning gets out of bed and drops dead. Stroke, apparently. Shame, he was a nice guy."

"It's awful, stepping into a dead man's shoes," Mom sighed. "At my old job I was replacing a woman I knew from Penn, Dr. Martha Stokes. She's been on holiday to Africa and caught malaria, just wasted away, poor thing."

"Jeez, Mom, I'm trying to eat! Can we lighten things up a little?" I groaned.

"Sorry, honey. So, you'll be starting at your new school in September! Jake, sweetie, tell me all about the place, I want to know everything about it."

Jacob launched into a detailed description of the school, teachers and students, then I cleared away the dishes and Mom served up the ice cream that Billy had brought for dessert. At the end of the meal, Billy raised his glass of orange juice in a toast.

"Hannah, Evie, I want to welcome you to La Push and I hope that you'll be very happy here. So here's to new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," we chorused solemnly, raising our glasses and clinking them together.


	3. Chapter 2: Sunset

2. SUNSET

My first few days living in La Push were uneventful and tedious, mostly spent unpacking what seemed like millions of cardboard boxes and finding places to put all my junk. My vanity and the shelf above my bed were rapidly groaning under the weight of sixteen years' worth of crap, and I just about managed to stuff all my clothes into the closet. Billy dropped round every day and was frustrated that he couldn't be of any help, but I only saw Jacob for five minutes a couple days after we moved in, when I ran into him outside the store.

"Where are you off to?" I grinned after the customary 'hellos' and 'how are yous'.

"I'm off to see some friends in Forks," he answered, seeming a little preoccupied. "Sorry, but I'm already late, do you mind if I run?"

"Oh, no problem, sorry for holding you up. See you Saturday?"

"Sure, looking forward to it. Oh, and Quil and Embry can't wait to meet you."

"Well, I hope they won't be disappointed. See you, Jacob."

"See ya!" he called, already rushing to his car.

The much-awaited Saturday finally arrived after four interminable days of unpacking, and Mom practically had to sedate me at breakfast as I was bouncing with excitement.

"My car's coming, my car's coming!" I squealed, skipping around the kitchen like a kid.

"Evie, calm down, you're making me nervous! Can you go to the store and pick up some milk?"

"Mo-om, I went to the store two days ago! I'll miss my car!" I whined.

"Evie, your car's not going to vanish if you're not here, and we really need some milk! I'd go but I've got to put the living room bookshelf together and that'll take me most of the morning."

"Fine," I pouted. "But if I've missed my car..."

The sun made its appearance for the first time since I'd been in La Push, so I put on a pair of cropped jeans and a pink T-shirt to try and tan a little. Honestly, it was the the 20th of July and it had been raining all week. Feeling something close to cheerfulness, I walked down to the store with my wallet in my back pocket, humming tunelessly and looking forward to getting my car back.

The Lonesome Creek Store was busy, all the tourists renting cabins at the Oceanside Resort buying ice creams and groceries. I grabbed two cartons of milk and a jumbo pack of hamburgers for the barbecue later, and joined the queue behind a tall, slender Quileute boy with cropped black hair. I could only see him from the back, but noticed his broad shoulders and the way his bicep bulged when he reached for a packet of coffee.

The queue dragged on for ever, some tourist mom with a broad Southern accent holding everyone up as she tried to keep her screaming kids under control and count out change from her wallet at the same time. The boy turned around and rolled his eyes at me.

"Jeez, this is taking forever," he complained.

"Tell me about it," I agreed. "I only came in here for some milk."

He glanced from the basket of groceries he was carrying to my measly load.

"You can cut in front of me if you want, seeing as you don't have much."

"Really?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thank you so much," I said, darting in front of him. Once I'd payed up I mouthed another 'thank you' to the boy then ran out of the store and back home. By the time I got there I was totally out of breath, and to my delight there was my baby parked in the driveway, gleaming in the weak sunshine.

My red 1974 Ford Gran Torino with a white racing stripe was my most prized possession. Dad had bought it from a friend of his who delt in classic cars to try and make up for abandoning Mom and I, and I had cherished the car from the moment I got it, though refused to even call my father to thank him.

Mom was waiting on the doorstep and smiling, my car keys in her hand. She tossed the keys to me and I caught them easily, though nearly dropped the milk.

"It arrived on time and without a scratch on it. You just missed the driver, he took off back to Olympia in the company van. Happy now?"

"Mom, I've never been so happy! I got my car back, I got my car back!"

She laughed and took the milk and the burgers from me, disappearing into the house. I circled my car, checking every shining inch of paint for scratches and finding none.

"Evie, don't even think about going out for a ride, we've still got unpacking to do." Mom's voice floated out of the open front door. "You can drive us to Billy's later but I need help right now so don't go disappearing off, okay?"

"Mo-om! No fair, I just got my baby back!"

She stuck her head out of the house, glaring.

"Life isn't fair young lady, so get inside _now_!"

Grumbling, I did as I was told and went to my room, which looked radically different to when we had first moved in. The shelf above my bed was covered with books and souvenirs, I had pinned a Philadelphia Eagles scarf to the closet door, and a big framed photo of Mom and I, taken on holiday at Niagra Falls last year, sat on my bedside cabinet. There were only a couple of boxes left to unpack, stationary and beauty products which I quickly emptied into the drawers of my vanity.

After lunch, I helped Mom re-arrange the furniture in the living room. We spent a couple of hours hauling the cream leather sofa and chairs around until they were just right for her Ladyship, then another half hour repositioning the glass coffee table. I was responsible for unpacking all our DVDs and CDs while Mom wired up the TV and put together the communal desk which we would both use for work.

At five-thirty, I hopped in the shower in the small, pale blue bathroom and quickly washed and shampooed my hair. I wrapped myself in a big, fluffy white towel and blow-dried my hair until it was completely dry, before changing into my cropped jeans, a lacy white camisole and white high tops. By the time I had finished my grooming session, Mom was waiting for me in the living room, as sleek and put-together as always is a gray cashmere cardigan and black fitted pants, holding a paper bag with the food in.

"You look beautiful, sweetie," she beamed. "Didn't I get you the cami for Christmas?"

"Yeah, it's my favorite. You look awesome, Mom."

"Thanks, angel. Come on, we'd better get going. I _think_ I remember the way to Billy's..."

It felt fantastic to be behind the wheel of my car again, and Mom directed me through the muddy lanes east out of La Push until we pulled into the driveway of a tiny wooden house painted a faded red, Jacob's Volkswagen and a police cruiser parked out front.

Jacob's face appeared at one of the narrow windows, and a moment later the front door burst open and three huge Quileute boys came spilling out into the yard. They ran over to meet us as we got out of the car, their eyes wide.

"Oh my _God_! It really is a Torino!" one of them gasped, a stocky boy in a white T-shirt who was a good foot taller than me and muscled up like a bodybuilder.

"Quil, you're being really rude," Jacob sighed, shaking his head. The third boy grinned and I felt a shock of recognition.

"Hey, you're the guy from the store!" I accused, and his grin widened. Jake glanced between us rapidly; Quil was too entranced by the car to notice anything.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Sort of. We met in the store earlier," the boy explained, his intense brown eyes raking up and down my body appreciatively. He was slightly shorter than Jacob, about 6'3" or 6'4", his face handsome and fine-featured with high cheekbones, a slightly dimpled chin and a gorgeous half-smile that brought me out in goosebumps. "I'm Embry Call."

"Lovely to meet you," I said, wincing at how gushing and breathless my voice sounded. "I'm Evelyn, call me Evie." Embry and I shook hands, his dark gaze boring into mine, and Jake raised his eyebrows a fraction.

"O-kay... Well, anyway, this is Quil. Quil!"

"What?" Quil asked irritably, tearing his eyes away from my car.

"This is Evie Moon," Jake said pointedly.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I just got a little distracted by the car. Wow, Jake, she _is_ hot!"

"_Excuse_ me?" I spluttered. Jacob's face had turned bright red under his tanned skin and he appeared to be choking; a laughing Embry smacked him between the shoulder blades.

"Jake told us you were a total babe." Quil grinned impishly. "And that you had a nice butt. I'm Quil Ateara, the sexiest guy in La Push."

"I'm Evie, the girl with the nice butt," I giggled, shaking his hand. Just then, Mom cleared her throat behind us and the three boys looked round.

"Oh, um, this is my mom, Hannah Moon."

"So, what's this about my daughter's butt?" Mom asked coolly, her eyes sparkling with amusement. It was Quil's turn to choke as Jacob and Embry roared with laughter.

"Apparenty Jake's been vaunting my merits to his friends," I said, biting back a smile.

"So I hear. Quil, sweetheart, I haven't seen you in ages! How are you doing?"

"Good thank you, ma'am."

"My, aren't you boys _big_? Sorry, I don't think I know you, honey." Mom smiled at Embry.

"I'm Embry Call."

Her eyes widened a fraction and she opened her mouth to say something, but obviously thought better and closed it again.

"Of course, you look just like your mom! Well, it's great to see you all. I'm guessing Billy and Charlie are out the back? I'll go join them then, if you can be trusted to keep away from Evie's butt..."

The boys snickered and I pretended to scowl at Mom. She smiled blithely back at me and glided into the house, as poised and graceful as a princess.

"So, what d'you guys want to do?" Jacob asked.

"Lets go to the garage," Embry suggested. The other two agreed and set off towards a cluster of trees and bushes at the side of the house. I followed, almost running to keep up with their long-legged strides. Jake and Embry noticed and slowed down so that I could catch up; Quil marched on ahead.

Beyond the shrubbery was the 'garage': two large plastic sheds bolted together and raised on cinder blocks, with the inside walls knocked out. A sleek black motorcycle was parked inside.

"Is that a Harley Sprint?" I asked, examining the bike with interest. Three pairs of dark eyes stared at me in disbelief, and I immediately felt defensive. "A friend of mine used to have one."

"Yeah, it's a Sprint. Wow, you know motorbikes?" Embry's voice was awed.

"A little. I used to hang out at my friend's when he was cleaning his up and he taught me some stuff. He never let me ride it, though."

"You can borrow mine some time, I'll teach you how to ride," Jake offered.

"Naw, I prefer cars. Safer, more comfortable, you know."

"Yeah, Jake got mashed up real bad after he crashed his bike last year, didn't you Jakie?" Quil teased, his eyes glittering. He opened the passenger door of the Volkswagen and threw himself onto the seat; Embry perched on a pile of cinder blocks near the entrance.

"Sure, sure." Jake rolled his eyes. "It was nothing, really."

I went and sat next to Embry, and he flashed his sexy half-smile again, making me shiver. To distract myself I glanced around the dark garage. The smell of oil and gas lingered in the air, and there were tools and pieces of metal strewn all over the floor.

"So what do you think of Jake's lair?" Quil directed his question at me.

"I just _love_ what he's done with the place. Especially the rusty bits of metal, nice touch."

"I know, it's just like Buckingham Palace. You'll be grateful when your pretty Torino gets a puncture, though," Jake riposted.

"I sure will. So are you guys going to be juniors in the fall?"

"Naw, Quil and I are going into the senior class," Embry said, his eyes never leaving my face.

"You're older than Jake?" This took my by surprise, he looked as old as if not older than his friends.

"We're all the same age, but I missed a lot of school last year so I'm having to do my junior year from scratch," Jacob explained, then stopped suddenly as thought he'd said something he shouldn't have. Quil and Embry were staring at him with wide eyes, shaking their heads. Confused, I pretended I hadn't noticed Jake's faux pas and tried to make light of the situation.

"Wow, you all look so much older! Like you should be at college or something."

The distraction worked, and the three boys' expressions turned smug.

"That's just 'cause we're tall. What class are you going to be in, anyway? Senior?" Embry asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

"No, sophomore."

"Really? You look seventeen at least, right Quil?"

"Yeah, eighteen even," Quil said solemnly.

"You two are _such_ creeps." Jake grinned. "It's unbelievable."

"Ignore Mr. Moody-pants over there. And I'd be careful if I were you, Evie," Quil warned.

"Why?"

"'Cause Embry's about to rip your panties off!"

I laughed along with Quil and Jacob, and Embry picked up a wrench and with a casual flick of his wrist sent it spinning towards Quil's face. So fast I actually missed the movement, Quil's hand came up and caught the tool.

"Better be quicker with her panties, Em," Jacob chuckled.

"Shut your yap, Black, before I shut it for you."

"Oooh!" Quil and Jacob chorused.

"They're always like this," Embry sighed.

"I guessed as much. I'm used to it though, the boys at my old school were just as bad."

"Hannah's coming to fetch us," Quil interrupted. "The food's ready."

I strained my ears, and a few seconds later I heard Mom's voice calling from outside.

"Kids, dinner's ready!"

The boys were on their feet in one fluid movement; I felt clumsy and uncoordinated as I stood up.

"Ladies first," Jake said gallantly, and I smiled warmly at him. Outside, Mom was waiting at the edge of the trees.

"C'mon, we're eating in the back yard."

We followed her past the shrubbery, around the house and into the Black's small back yard. A picnic table had been set up there, Billy sat at the head of the table drinking a beer. A man with curly brown hair, wearing a red apron with _Grill Master: The Man, The Myth, The Legend _emblazoned on it in black letters, was flipping burgers on the barbecue. He turned to smile at us, his dark eyes crinkling up.

"Evie, this is Charlie Swan, an old friend," Mom introduced us. "Charlie, this is my little girl, Evie."

"Last time I saw you you were no higher than that!" Charlie exclaimed, holding his hand just below his waist. "Great to see you, kid."

"You, too, Chief." I smiled and shook hands with him.

"Plates are in the kitchen, kids, and there's plenty of soda in the fridge so help yourselves," Billy told us, pointing at the open back door. After grabbing a plate and a Coke from the kitchen, I sat down at the picnic table and helped myself to ribs, a burger and some salad. Embry smiled shyly and sat down next to me. At the other end of the table, Mom's eyebrows drew together in a frown.

"Billy, can I have a beer?" Quil's voice called out of the open kitchen window.

"Absolutely not!" Billy replied.

"_Please_?"

"What d'you say, Chief?" Billy grinned at Charlie Swan.

"I'm willing to overlook it just this once."

"Fine. One beer, Quil. I've got my eye on you!"

"Sure, sure!"

The adults laughed, and Quil and Jake came out of the house and sat down opposite Embry and I. Quil was carrying a can of Rainier beer.

The meal was fun, everyone talking and laughing loudly. Charlie and Billy told anecdotes about Mom from their youth, like the time she'd got a fish hook through her thumb when a party of them were out fishing together and fainted four times on the way to ER. All through his teenage years Charlie Swan had been best friends with Harry Clearwater, Billy's first cousin, so he and Billy, who had been in his early twenties when Charlie was a senior at high school, saw a lot of each other. Mom had only been twelve, but her older cousin Naomi was friends with the boys so she used to hang out with them.

"Hannah was _very_ grown-up for her age," Charlie said, grinning. "You'd have thought she was fifteen or sixteen."

"And stubborn as a mule!" Billy added. "She was worst than the boys for fighting. Gave poor Harry Clearwater a black eye when he chased her with some seaweed pretending it was a snake."

Everyone laughed, and Charlie got up to fetch the next lot of burgers.

"So why did you hang out with Mom and Charlie and all if you were so much older?" I asked Billy.

"Back in those days, Forks was even smaller than it is now, and there weren't many kids on the reservation, so the youngsters hung out together to be with people of similar ages."

"And you were always close to Harry, too," Mom added.

"Sure, sure, we were close as brothers. We practically grew up together, his ma was my dad's little sister."

"Hey, remember when Sue and Naomi climbed that redwood for a bet and couldn't get down?" Charlie snickered.

When the sun began to set the temperature dropped, so the party moved into the Blacks' tiny living room. Jake and Quil, bored by the adults' conversation, had started talking about cars, and I listened to their meaningless chatter, nodding along and hoping I looked interested. For some reason, the living room soon seemed overwhelmingly hot, and rapidly became unbearable. Cheeks flushed, I excused myself and made my way out into the back yard, feeling a little light-headed. The cool night air was bracing and I wandered over to the patch of trees, watching the blood red sun sink slowly behind the forest.

"Hey," a quiet voice said, making me jump. Embry was standing a few feet behind me, holding a plastic cup.

"Oh, hey!"

"You looked pretty thirsty, I figured you might want something to drink," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks, that's really sweet. It's so _hot_ indoors." I took the cup and sipped the ice cold water. It unbelievably refreshing, exactly what I needed.

"Really? That's weird, I didn't notice." Embry frowned. "Anyway, it's getting pretty boring back there. Jake and Quil are watching _Monster Garage_ and the grown-ups have got the photo albums out."

"Jeez, what is it with old people and reminiscing?"

Embry laughed, his dark brown eyes carefully scrutinizing my face. It was disconcerting, like he was staring at my very soul. A heavy silence fell, fizzling with the same electricity that had been bouncing between us all evening. Above us, the scarlet sun, just peeking over the treetops, set the sky ablaze.

"So..." he began. "You're from Philly, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's really – wow."

Another silence.

"And you're from La Push, obviously," I said, racking my brains for something to say.

"Yeah, but my mom's actually a Makah..."

The silence grew more intense, the electricity in the air almost tangible. Then the cup, slick with condensation, slipped from my fingers and plummeted towards the ground.

"Oh, crap!"

In a flash, Embry's hand shot out and caught the cup. I gaped at him open-mouthed, unable to believe that anyone had such amazing reflexes.

"Wow."

A half-smile playing around his lips, Embry handed the cup back wordlessly. As he pulled his hand away, the strap of his watch got caught in a lock of my hair.

"Whoops, sorry! Um, wait, just let me get that for you..." He took a step closer and carefully untangled the strand of blond hair, then in a surpsringly tender gesture tucked it behind my ear. The feel of his fingertips brushing against my temple made me gasp, and I caught his wrist in my hand.

"Your skin, it's really hot. Do you have a fever or something?"

"I don't have a fever," Embry said softly, my gaze lost in the depths of his deep brown eyes and a lopsided smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He gently prised my fingers from his wrist with his free hand, and laced his fingers through mine. My eyes widened slightly, and Embry bit at the full pout of his lower lip.

"I..." I began, but my voice tailed away. Embry was leaning down, his lips parted and his eyes closed, and I tilted my head upwards. His face was barely centimeters from mine, I could feel his warm breath of my face –

"_EVELYN_!"

My mother's voice cracked like a whip in the still night and we sprang apart, eyes flying open. Mom stood halfway across the yard, her expression thunderous.

"Mom!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled, her slim frame quivering with rage.

"Nothing, I –"

"We're leaving. _Now_. Go and say goodbye then get in the car."

I cast a desperate look at Embry, but he gave a tiny shake of his head. Feeling like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, I scurried past my mother and into the house.

"Man, you are _so_ busted! Caught getting all loved up with Embry, ouch!" Quil crowed. He and Jake were waiting just inside the back door, and had obviously been spying on us.

"You're mom looks pretty pissed off." Jacob seemed a little anxious.

"I know." I sighed deeply. "We're going. See you soon, if I survive the next ten minutes."

Jake smiled and pulled me into a brief hug, his body warm and strangely comforting.

"See ya, Gran Torino." Quil hugged me and ruffled my hair, but released me as a stony-faced Mom and a rather furtive Embry entered the kitchen.

"Bye Jake, bye Quil, it was lovely to see you both. Embry." She nodded stiffly to him, and though he towered over her the look on her face made Embry cringe slightly.

"Bye," I muttered, about to follow her into the living room. Blazing fingers closed around my wrist and I looked up into the fathomless eyes of Embry Call. He smiled mischievously, and pressed a crumpled piece of paper into my hand.

"Call me," he whispered.

"Will do."

"_Evelyn_!" Mom barked from the living room, and I rushed through to say a hasty goodbye to Charlie and Billy, both of whom were badly disguising their amusement. Mom thanked them again for inviting us, then we went and got in the car and I fired up the engine. Charlie, Quil, Embry and Jacob all waved to us from the porch, and Mom waved back in a regal manner. As I reversed into the muddy lane, I caught sight of the boys grinning and punching Embry on the shoulder, and smiled to myself.

There was a long silence, Mom glaring out of her window with her arms folded tightly across her chest. I sighed, keeping my eyes fixed on the road. I could feel the piece of paper Embry had given me tucked in the pocket of my jeans, like a talisman.

"You may as well get it over with, Mom."

She didn't say anything, but shot me a murderous look.

"You are in major trouble, young lady." Her tone was sharp, every syllable a threat.

"I don't see what I've done wrong –"

"Oh, really? You've known that boy all of three hours, Evelyn! It's totally unacceptable to behave like that!"

I wanted to point out that I'd actually known him since about eleven o'clock this morning, but decided that it wouldn't do me any favors.

"I understand that you may get certain... impulses, but the unpleasant truth is that boys of that age are more likely to be after sex than to feel any genuine emotions."

"Mo-om, jeez! Don't go there!"

"I'm sorry, Evelyn, but you're at a vulnerable age where you can easily be influenced and manipulated and I don't want you taken advantage of by older boys. My friend Liv has been an obstetricien for over ten years and you'd be amazed at the number of teenage girls asking for abortions because their boyfriend knocked them up. I don't want that to be you."

"This has nothing to do with me kissing someone, does it?" I said, suddenly realising what had got Mom so angry. "This is because of Embry. Why, what's wrong with him?"

Mom had stiffened, seeming hesitant all of a sudden.

"What makes you think it's to do with Embry?" she asked slowly.

"Oh come on, I saw the way you looked at him when he said his name. If it had been Quil or Jacob you wouldn't be half as mad. What's so bad about Embry?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all. Anyway, I've made my point, and I want you to be more careful from now on or so help me you'll be grounded until graduation."

I pursed my lips at her poor attempt at changing the subject, but nodded.

"Okay, I'll be more careful."

Mom smiled, and reached across to squeeze my hand.

"Good. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too," I murmured, but the words were meant for someone else.


End file.
